Apiculture Or beekeeping refers to the rearing , caring, and management of honeybees to obtain honey ,wax ,pollen ,royal jelly etc. and other useful substance.
In apiculture, an area is selected for the commercial maintenance of bees in artificial beehives, and such areas are called apiaries. Nectar is collected by honey bees naturally from flowers and stored in their hives. Beehives are a source of wax, which is used in a variety of medicinal preparations in addition to honey.
Types of honeybee in hive include queen bee, drone and worker bee. Queen bee is the mother of colony . She lays eggs out of which drone emerge from unfertilized egg and worker bee and queen bee emerge from fertilized egg. Drones are young male to fertilize young queen. Worker bee are female but are sterile, they are involved in indoor activities, scavenger and nurse bees.
The various species used for honeybee rearing are as follows:1.Apis cerana indica (Indian bee) 2. Apis dorsata (Rock bee) 3. Apis florea (Little bee) 4. Apis mellifera ( Italian bee).
Among there Apis mellifera is mostly used because of gentle nature, good honey collection capacity, prolific queen etc.
The establishment of apiary depends on :Location of apiary, surrounding flora and nectar collecting flower, varities of honey bee used in rearing.
Importance :
Honey is found to be quite useful in the treatment of various disorders of humans related to digestion, dysentery, vomiting and stomach or liver ailments.
Honey is considered as a blood purifier, a cure against cough and cold, sore throat, ulcers of the tongue, stomach and intestine.
Bee wax is used in cosmetics, creams and ointments.
Royal jelly is taken as an invigorating tonic.
Propolis is a health supplement with antibiotic properties.
Bee venom is employed as a cure for rheumatism, arthritis and certain central nervous system diseases.
Pollination depends on honeybees leading to an increase in the yield .
Overall bee rearing helps in maintaining the ecological balance .
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